"Obviously a lot has happened in the last 48 hours, and it wasn’t ideal.

"He’s expressed that in an ideal world he would have loved to have had a chat to the boys before anything came out but he’s been on leave, he hasn’t been at training so circumstances just didn’t work out for him.

"He has reached out and let us all know. It’s bittersweet for the club: he’s coming off a season where he was our best player by a long way.

"He was an integral part of our success over the past few years. On a club and teammate perspective he’s going to be a big hole to fill but on a friendship level we wish him all the best."

Holmes has scored 66 tries in 105 games for the Sharks and was the subject of a big-money offer from them as well as North Queensland for 2020 and beyond.

Graham said his familiarity with the 23-year-old could yet prove helpful when it comes to fantasy sports.

"Physically he has all the attributes to be successful in any sporting arena he chooses to play in. The biggest question mark is how he grasps the game and whether he can make it to the necessary level to play in the NFL.

"We’re actually in NFL fantasy together, me and Val. A few boys at the club and who have left the club all do NFL fantasy.

"Who knows; next year one of us might be drafting Val into our team. That’d be pretty funny."

It's not yet known whether Holmes has a trial at a particular NFL team, but former player Colin Scotts suspects he isn't heading over on a whim.